Chapter 11 - Text Notes
294 See Rashi Ber. 2, 23 where he shows that the
world was created in Hebrew. Therefore, if there was one language it
must have been Hebrew. (M.)
295 Ber. Rab. 38, 6; Tanchuma 18.
296 The period that
elapsed between Creation and the Flood.
297 Ber. Rab. 38, 6.
298 10, 30.
299 Ber. Rab. 38, 7.
300 Ibid. 8, Tanchuma
18.
301 Why did they not use stones for building, as was customary?
302 Whereas stones are cut from mountains.
303 Why would
it be necessary for G-d, the All-Knowing and All-Seeing to "Come down
to see"?
304 Chapt. 18. See also Rashi Ber. 18, 21.
305 Ber. 3, 12.
306 They are, therefore, called {Hebrew Ref} ---sons of Adam, for they seemed to inherit his trait of
ungratefulness.
307 Ber. Rab. 38, 9.
308 I.e., the same
advantage that was given them by G-d, was the cause of their rebelling.
(R.M.)
309 Lit., {Hebrew Ref} means their beginning. The
pronoun, "their," could feasibly refer to the "city and tower."
This, however, is not so. Because in this statement, G-d makes no
mention of them. He refers only to the people. Rashi explains,
therefore, that the reference is to the people---i.e., "They
began to do this." (G.A.)
310 I.e., shall they not be prevented
from doing so?
311 Tehillim 76, 13.
312 To whom was G-d
addressing this?
313 Tanchuma 18. See Rashi, Ber. 1, 26.
314
This indicates an anxiousness to hurry. Why?
315 I.e., the
seeming rush.
316 V. 4.
317 I.e., when the {Hebrew Ref} precedes the root letters of
a verb.
318 Usually "Let us go down" would be {Hebrew Ref} .
Here, the {Hebrew Ref} is additional.
319 How will the
confusion of language affect the building of the tower?
320 Ber.
Rab. 38, 10.
321 {Hebrew Ref} in this verse and {Hebrew Ref} in the following verse seem repetitive.
322 Sanhedrin
107b.
323 Mishlei 10, 24.
324 Sanhedrin 107b.
325 I.e.,
the generation of the Tower of Bavel.
326 Obviously, the latter's transgression was more serious.
327 I.e., the Tower of Bavel generation.
328 Ber. Rab. 38, 6.
329 I.e., both events---Sheim's being 100 years old and the
birth of Arpachshad---took place two years after the Flood.
330 Ber. Rab. 38, 13; Tanchuma.
331 Terach dealt in the
manufacture and sale of idols. On one occasion Terach left the idols in
the care of the young Avraham. A woman brought some flower and asked
Avraham to bring it as an offering to the idols, whereupon Avraham
picked up an ax and smashed all the idols and placed the ax in the
hands of the largest of them. When Terach returned and saw what had
happened, he asked Avraham, "Who did this?" He replied, "A woman
brought some flower as an offering to the idols. When I brought it
before them they began to argue, each one demanding that he eat first,
whereupon, this large one picked up the ax and smashed the rest."
Terach understood that Avraham was mocking him and his idols and went
to complain to Nimrod.
332 Ur Kasdim meaning the fire of the
Chaldees.
333 Yeshaiyahu 24, 14.
334 Ibid. 11, 8.
335 {Hebrew Ref} ---see.
336 {Hebrew Ref} is
plural. To whom does this refer? {Hebrew Ref} , too, is plural. To
whom does this refer? (G.A.)
337 I.e., Terach and Avram were the
family heads who took Lot and Sarai along. (G.A.)
338 Historically,
Terach died many years later. Why, then, does the Torah record his
death here?
339 Bereishis 12, 4.
340 V. 26.
341 I.e.,
he lived another 60 years, for he was 205 years old at his death.
342 I.e., Avram's leaving during his father's
lifetime.
343 However, the question remains: how can Scripture
record Terach's death when he, in fact, had not yet died? "Scripture
calls him dead ..."
344 Ramban asks: But did Terach
ultimately not repent, as Rashi himself states later? (Ber. 15, 15).
Gur Aryeh answers: though he repented, he was not forgiven until he
died and thus he was still referred to as wicked.
345 II Shmuel
23, 20.
346 ...which is a curious reference, for isn't
everyone the child of a living person? Therefore, this description is
taken to mean "the son of a righteous man" who is called
living even after death.
347 Ber. Rab. 39, 7; Berachos 18a,b.
348 It would seem that Rashi's Torah scroll had the {Hebrew Ref}
inverted. Our scrolls, have the {Hebrew Ref} in its usual form.
349
The inverted {Hebrew Ref} symbolizes the turning of G-d's anger to
G-d's mercy.
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